Edwin Wall Monroe, MD, was the first physician recruited by Chancellor Leo W. Jenkins to play a leading role, as a well-trained medical professional, in East Carolina’s drive to secure a four-year medical school. Monroe’s standing as a respected practicing physician from eastern North Carolina committed to improving health services for the region made him an invaluable ally. Monroe’s energetic support for the medical school helped make it a reality, and his continued service at ECU in various leadership positions contributed to its successful growth and development, as well as that of medical and health sciences education.
Monroe began his undergraduate studies at the University of Louisville but completed his bachelor’s degree at Davidson College in 1947. He then completed the two-year program in medicine at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, 1947-1949. Monroe earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 1951. He interned at the Medical College of Virginia, 1951-1952, and then completed a four-year residency in internal medicine at North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill, 1952-1956. Following his residency, Monroe, a native of Laurinburg, began practicing in Greenville, with a specialization in internal medicine.
In 1968, Chancellor Leo W. Jenkins appointed Monroe to serve as the founding dean of the newly established School of Allied Health and Social Professions. This school was established as part of East Carolina’s drive to secure a four-year medical school addressing the medical needs of the eastern part of the state, severely underserved at the time. As dean, Monroe helped prepare ECU academically for a four-year medical school and lobbied across the state for the cause. According to Dr. Paul Cunningham, who served as dean of the ECU medical school following Monroe, “Dr. Monroe was a fierce advocate for our medical school in its creation and its infancy.”
Between 1971-1979, coinciding with the first years of East Carolina’s medical school, Monroe served as vice chancellor for Health Affairs. In 1974, he was named president of the Eastern Area Health Education Center. As leader of EAHEC, Monroe helped develop outreach programs such as an off-campus nursing degree as well as community medical residencies, allowing young doctors to experience the demands of a rural practice.
From 1979-1986, Monroe served as an associate dean at the new ECU medical school and in that capacity oversaw the construction of the school’s new facility adjacent to Pitt Memorial Hospital (now Vidant). It was also during Monroe’s tenure as associate dean that the medical school graduated, in 1981, its first class of four-year students, awarding them medical degrees. From 1986-1990, Monroe served as the executive dean of the medical school. In addition to his work as a physician-administrator, Monroe chaired the board of trustees for Pitt County Memorial Hospital and University Health Systems of East Carolina (now Vidant Health and Vidant Medical Center). No faculty member contributed more to the successful bid for a medical school and then its subsequent success as an integral part of ECU than did Monroe.
Sources
- “Dr. Edwin Wall ‘Ed’ Monroe, Obituary.” Daily Reflector. April 18, 2017.
- Garrison, Herb. “Dr. Ed Monroe’s Legacy.” Daily Reflector. April 23, 2017.
- Edwin Wall Monroe Interview in the Oral History Collection (LL 02.03), The William E. Laupus Health Sciences Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
- Edwin Wall Monroe Papers (LL 02.18), The William E. Laupus Health Sciences Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Citation Information
Title: Edwin Wall Monroe
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 6/25/2019